From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
When she didn't have anywhere else to go, and nothing called for her immediate attention as a person with free hands and little else to do, Maea made herself useful among the barracks. Unwilling to return to the Dusklight even for a night, the stern lodgings of soldiers seemed more comfortable to her. They didn't say much; others had lost their homes recently too, and empty bunks had filled up with more than one youth who thought it better to serve this way, in return for food and shelter.
It quickly became habit to rise with the sun and join the morning exercise. There was comfort in routine, a sort of peace in keeping herself busy that did her good. Gradually her spine eased and stopped jolting whenever she heard footsteps. While she didn't smile often, carrying light conversation stopped turning her stomach with unease, and for every day that went she learned the names and faces of those who existed around her.
She played with the idea of just staying, one morning. Light reflected in the blunt practice sword as she repeated the cuts and parries the instructor had showed her, and the shield kept dragging on her other arm; sweat was already streaking down her face, and yet... for all the repetition, for all the annoying details and the strictness of routine, she was... content.
"Break! Ten minutes, then move on to sparring!"
Sucking in air through her teeth, the Ancient rolled her shoulders against the tender bruises littering her body, but followed the rest to the sparring rings anyway. Most of the cuts and scrapes she had received when a meteor fragment destroyed the place she had been staying in had healed, but the deeper bruising had yet to entirely disappear.
Contemplating whether to sit this one out, she looked around in search of an opponent. Preferably one who didn't look like they could snap her in half with two fingers...
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
(Placing this when Edmund's citizenship changes).
It was official. He'd left Torchline. Edmund fully intended to return this very season to continue helping in the recovery. Yet now he would do so as a Grounder and not a Torcher. It was a lot to process but he didn't regret it. This was the right choice for him as it was what Mother wanted.
Still, guilt was sharp. Resolving to channel it into a productive energy, the young Ancient had gone to the barracks. It was as he was sharpening his corseque that he spotted a familiar face. He didn't have her name, but he'd seen her once. A sister of his. Edmund nodded at Maea as their eyes briefly met, " Good afternoon. It's a relief to see you back on your feet. How are you feeling?"
Maea was still looking for a sparring partner when someone beside her addressed her. Turning, she recognized the youngster who had startled her in the Aetheneum some days ago, and nodded a polite greeting. "Afternoon." If she found it awkward to face him again, this time she did a splendid job of hiding it. "Much better. Thank you for the help you gave me... I hope I didn't inconvenience you too much."
Taking the chance to look him over properly this time, she was pleased to note that he didn't tower over her quite as much as most of the other soldiers. Twirling the practice sword in her hand, she nudged her chin towards the practice field.
"Care for a spar? You can check for yourself." A crooked half smile took the edge off the challenge. Having no illusions when it came to her own fighting prowess, the thought it would be interesting to see how she fared against a complete stranger - especially since he seemed a bit younger than herself.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Edmund shook his head, "Not at all. I'm just relieved that I was there to help." When Mother had told him that he should help his siblings, he hadn't been expecting to help one off the floor soon after stepping foot in the Grounds. He would have helped Maea regardless, but it was nice to know that Mother would approve of his action.
The other Ancient twirled her sword and Edmund took a second to scan her, pleased to see that her words matched her appearance. She truly did look a great deal better than before. "I'm glad that you're feeling better." His tail flicked excitedly, and he picked up his corseque, "I'd love to spar. My name is Edmund. I don't believe I had the chance to introduce myself in our first meeting."
Never good at small talk, Maea made little attempt to prolong the chit chat and simply stepped out on the training field, leading the way to a spot where they had room to move. Turning to face Edmund, she pursed her lips curiously at the sight of his weapon of choice. Spears weren't too common a sight and definitely put her at a disadvantage. Glad for the added protection of the shield, she offered her opponent a salute with her sword and swung the shield up in place.
The first issue with this had to be getting past the spear. Approaching cautiously, Maea tried a faint by moving to the left, then swiftly dodging to the right with a quick thrust aimed for his torso. It was hard to know where to look; the tip of the spear, or his hands and arms. Times like these made her long for a good oldfashioned bow and arrow - at least they had reach.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Edmund followed without complaint, still unfamiliar with the layout of the barracks. He nodded as she raised her sword, stepping into his own stance. His eyes traced her figure, trying to determine a way past her shield. Maea moved first and it gave the younger Ancient enough time to strategize. He caught onto her feint by noticing a muscle twitch. Edmund twisted to avoid the strike to his chest and as he moved, the younger Ancient stabbed his corseque into the gap between Mae's sword arm and where the shield began. If it made contact, he would draw back enough that it would only nick her clothes. He had no intention of truly harming her except for mild scratches or bruises.
When the thrust failed to reach its intended target, Maea shifted her weight back to regain her balance. Rocking slightly to the side allowed her to catch the spear on her shield, and the thud as it jabbed into the battered wood resounded against the surrounding buildings.
The force of the impact pushed her backwards, and she took her time to regain composure and shake out the prickling force working itself through the shield arm before approaching again. Flashing Edmund a grin in hopes of shaking his confidence a bit, the older woman made a sudden rush toward his right hand side, turned while putting the shield up to block any attacks and tried to get a slash in at his ribs, closer to the back than the side. With a blunt sword it might bruise a bit, but hardly draw blood.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Instead of intimidating the young Ancient, Maea's grin was met with an answering one as bloodlust surged through Edmund. Not the kind that would drive him to harm his new sister, but the kind that had him eager for battle. Her raised shield did block his next attempted jab, the corseque impacting with a loud 'thunk'. But Edmund had been practicing enough with his dodging that he was able to just barely twist and avoid the worst of her strike.
The weapon grazed his side with enough that he might have a minor bruise later, but nothing bad enough to pause his momentum. Continuing his twist, Edmund came around and attempted to strike Maea's side with the shaft of his spear. It'd likely leave a bruise if it landed.
He was good, she would give him that. Took the hit with grace and immediately retaliated with a slap of the spear shaft that slid off the edge of the shield and caught her in the ribs. Air whooshed from her lungs with a pained grunt; breathing through the discomfort Maea tried to lock the weapon down beneath her arm and leaned back to aim a no-nonsense kick to the boy's abdomen. If it landed, she meant to follow up with a thrust of the sword.
If not... well, she'd deal with that when she got there. At least she was having fun. The toothy grin playing over her mouth suggested as much, and there was a savage delight burning in her eyes, reserved specifically for this type of activity. Moving her body felt good. The sword in her hand, the flashes of pain and pressure whenever their blows connected - it sang through her blood, whispering alive, alive, alive with every heartbeat.
Euphoria beyond anything a drug might offer.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Edmund's tail flicked with satisfaction as his attack landed, but Maea recovered quickly. She trapped his spear against her side and readied her sword. The younger Ancient had half a moment to decide his next course of action. He let go of his spear and dropped down to avoid her strike. It was a calculated risk and one that I was hesitant to take.
From his new vantage point, the young Ancient let instinct and adrenaline consume him. He dove, attempting to tackle Maea to the ground in a grapple. Perhaps, it would be considered poor sportsmanship. Any other time, Edmund would consider it so himself. Yet, amongst his fellow Ancients, he found himself letting such tactics fly. They felt right almost. More primal, more Ancient.
Perhaps she should have expected a trick. But Maea was so pleased to have disarmed her opponent that she didn't expect him to do anything reckless. And whatever else you might call it, leaping straight at an armed person was decidedly reckless.
Unfortunately for her, it worked. Surprised by the way he leaped at her Maea felt the weight of the young man crash into her with enough force to knock her flat on her back. The hard surface packed by many trampling feet drove her breath away and for a brief moment Maea couldn't get her lungs to work.
Head swimming, aware only of the weight pressing down on her and the flares going off in her brain, instinct kicked it. A feral whine tore up her throat and she thrashed where she lay, kicking and snapping sharp fangs to make him get off of her. Stronger than she looked, the fresh fear drove a new edge to her struggle; any scratches left behind this time would be marked in blood.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
02-23-2024, 03:03 AM (This post was last modified: 02-23-2024, 03:04 AM by Edmund.)
Edmund knew that he had horrifically messed up as soon as the whine tore through the air. He was leaping back off of her, half-tripping as he did so, within a heartbeat. The young Ancient still came out of the situation with a scratch on his cheek and a heavily bruised rib from a stray kick. He paid them no mind.
Dropping down onto one knee to make himself smaller a short distance away, Edmund watched Maea with wide eyes, "I am so so so sorry. I lost control of my tiger's instincts and gave into play fighting." The sense of worry and guilt was nearly overwhelming, tightening his throat and making his heart race. Edmund's fingers twitched, but he forced himself to grasp his sleeve. Even if he desperately wanted to reach out and help his fellow Ancient up, he didn't want to worsen the situation. He was just grateful that they were in an isolated part of the barracks and that no one seemed to have noticed just yet. "Are you ok? Did I hurt you? What can I do to make it better? I am so deeply sorry."
He moved away in a heartbeat and Maea quickly rolled around, got to her knees and raised the sword and shield at the ready. But her composure was in shambles; the sword trembled in her grip and white lined of panic kept streaking the outsides of her conscious mind even though she sucked in breath after breath to keep it at bay.
"It's fine," she lied, hoarse and a bit gruff, "I'm fine. You did nothing wrong." It was just her, just complex trauma rearing its ugly head at the worst possible time - exaggerated simply because this young man was still a stranger who got far too close. A shudder wrecked her from top to toe... but then it subsided.
Slowly she got back up on her feet.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't breathe." Only a small part of the truth, it was nonetheless all she could bring herself to explain.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Edmund could easily read the lie in every muscle; tension and panic coiled like a spring. He'd seen the look on his Mum's face in the past, when her trauma became too much. He carefully stood up but stayed a small distance away to appear less of a threat. Giving Maea a nod, he let the topic drop, "Ok. I promise I'll be more careful if we ever spar again." Strictly weapons, no physical altercations.
He'd love to do so. The young Ancient found sparring to be a wonderful way to bond with his fellow Ancients. Yet, he wouldn't push Maea. If she were willing, he'd be happy to get to know her in any other manner. Nervous, he fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket, cautiously meeting Maea's eyes, "Are we ok?" Was there still a chance for friendship or should he avoid her in the future for her own comfort?
